Corruption

CorruptionFavoritism• Nepotism• Discrimination• Prejudice

Authority• Privilege• Abuse• Embezzlement• Harassment Competence

• Resistance• Cheating• Theft

Tribute• Commissions• Tapping• Extortion• Protectionism• Bribery

Corruption

CorruptionLarry Summers• Former Harvard President

• Former Deputy Secretary of Treasury, Treasury Secretary for the Clinton Administration

• Advocates financial de-regulation

• Former director the White House National Economic Council

•Between 2001 and his entry into the Obama administration, he made more than $20-million from the financial-services industry. (His 2009 federal financial-disclosure form listed his net worth as $17-million to $39-million.)

Corruption

John Y. Campbell

• Chairman of Harvard’s Economic Department • Downplays importance of financial conflicts of interest among academic economists

Corruption

Frederic Mishkin

• Columbia University Finance Professor

• Wrote a positive report about Iceland’s economy in 2006 and was given $124,000 by Iceland’s chamber of commerce. In 2008, Iceland’s banking industry collapsed.

CorruptionSacked Chinese railways minister in corruption inquiry

China's sacked railways minister is under investigation for allegedly embezzling more than 800m yuan (£75m; $121m), state media report.Liu Zhijun was forced to stand down last month after the authorities launched an investigation for "serious disciplinary violations".Mr Liu is alleged to have received huge bribes when handing out contracts for the country's high-speed rail network.He has not publicly commented on the allegations against him.No official charges have yet been filed against the minister. The Ministry of Railways could not be reached for comment.Mr Liu had served as the railways minister since 2003, leading an ongoing multi-billion dollar investment programm in China's railway network.He is currently the most senior official to be investigated by the authorities.'Grave' situation Ministers are rarely targeted in corruption crackdowns as it could damage the credibility of the Communist Party, says the BBC's Martin Patience in Beijing.More than 200,000 cases - including embezzlement and bribery - had been investigated since 2003.

March, 2011

CorruptionHuawei Implicated in China Mobile Corruption Case

By Zhang Xiaohui (张晓晖 )Economic Observer OnlineOct 11, 2011Translated by Song ChunlingOriginal Article: [Chinese]

The trial of Shen Changfu (沈长富 ), the former party secretary and general manager of China Mobile's Chongqing office, began at Chongqing's No. 5 Intermediate People's Court on Oct 10. Shen is being charged with corruption, with prosecutors saying that together with his son, Shen Juncheng (沈俊成 ) - who is also known as Shen Li (沈力 ) - he accepted up to 36 million yuan in bribes from various companies.

However, it's the details of how Huawei went about paying their bribe that has caught the attention of many.

Huawei is said to have paid Shen Juncheng more than 1.3 million yuan as a "salary" for a non-existent position he held at the company from late 2003 when he had returned from studying in the UK.

Shen Juncheng did intend to take a position at the company's Chengdu office, but left in Jan 2004 after receiving training.

Despite leaving his postion, Shen continued to receive his salary, along with generous annual bonuses. The company continued to sign new contracts with Shen and regular work performance forms were also faked.

An official from Huawei's Chengdu office told police that as the younger Shen's father was the head of China Mobile in Chongqing, they knew they had to look after him. Every year the Chongqing branch of China Mobile would purchase over 100 million yuan's worth of communications equipment from Huawei.

CorruptionHuawei Implicated in China Mobile Corruption Case

By Zhang Xiaohui (张晓晖 )Economic Observer OnlineOct 11, 2011Translated by Song ChunlingOriginal Article: [Chinese]

It was also revealed during yesterday's hearing that Shen Changfu, who was first held in Apr last year, has since returned 48 million yuan to authorities. Shen also confessed to the charges.

Shen's case is also linked to that of Li Hua (李华 ), the former General Manager of the Sichuan branch of China Mobile, who was detained on suspicion of accepting bribes in June last year. Li was sentenced to death after a trial which began on Jul 5 at the Panzhihua Intermediate People's Court.

Li accepted over 16 million yuan in bribes during his 10 years as GM of the Sichuan branch of China Mobile. Li's case was just one of a number of corruption scandals uncovered at the Sichuan branch of China Mobile.

Zhang Chunjiang, the former vice-chairman of the Hong Kong-listed China Mobile, was also sentenced to death.

CorruptionDiscussion Questions:

1 – What other stories of corruption do you know?2 – What are some corruption examples of tribute, favoritism, authority, or competence?3 – Have you ever been involved in a “corrupt” situation? What happened? 4 – Is corruption sometimes ok? When?5 – What is the largest corruption case you have heard?6 – What form of corruption is most common in China? The USA? African countries?7 – Is there any place for morality in business? Why or why not?